There is a reason that bookmakers make such great profits and that’s because that they always ensure that the odds are in their favour but also because many gamblers fall into the same old traps where they can lose their money far too quickly.

Anyone who loves sports betting has ended up lazily betting. You’re never going to beat the bookies if you’re putting all of the money in your account on a team in the Paraguayan Apertura that you have never heard of, but the temptation is always there.

Know your sport

One of the key rules, as referred to there, is to know your sport, and know what you are betting on. If you don’t know whether a given odd is short, long or fair, then you shouldn’t be betting on it as otherwise you are just betting blind.

One of the sports betting sites biggest tools are the ignorance and impulse of their customers. That leads to reckless betting and not where you think the value is. If you know a lot about a specific sport or league, then your chances of earning money are vastly increased.

Shop around

Every bookmaker is going to have a slightly different set of odds that they work from, due to that if you think there’s a great bet then it makes sense to check various online sports betting sites to see which one is offering the best odds. This will means your profits are higher and the bookies are worse off.

Most people settle on one website but they could be selling themselves short. It’s difficult to balance a multitude of different sites but having two or three would be a wise move, and you will also be able to see if a pattern sets in, with one offering better odds on a specific sport, for example.

Know that bookies protect themselves

The odds that you see are never the odds that the bookmakers genuinely think will happen. The best example of this is the ability to bet on a coin toss, a win should obviously double your winnings but you are more likely to get something like £1.90 back for every £1 spent.

This is so that they always make money back and it makes finding value even more important. Sports bookmakers also protect themselves from big losses. If a football manager is rumoured to be taking over a club, for example, a host of people will rush to the bookmakers to place a bet on the rumour.

If this happens, the bookies will dramatically shorten the odds. Not because they think it will happen but because they want to minimize their losses if it’s true. This brings two pieces of advice as you want to make sure that you don’t get sucked into the rumour but also there will be potential value in other bets.

Be careful with accumulators Betting accumulators have an obvious temptation in the same way that the lottery does. You have the potential to turn a small stake into a huge amount of winnings. You’ll hear many people bemoan not winning a sports accumulator by one or two bets, but that is why the bookies love them, as something will always let you down.

You also need to resist the temptation to add bets with very short odds to your accumulator as it’s simply not worth the risk. The odds you get on these types of bets are terrible and you are simply giving your accumulator more chances to fail. A small number of bets with reasonable odds will give you a much better chance.

Find value inside bets

If you know a lot of detail about a particular subject, then use that to your advantage. Whether that is Test cricket, the Welsh Premier League or horse racing, if you’re an expert in an area you’ll have a much better chance of finding value.

Specific match betting is a great way to find this value. Anytime goal scorer, next wicket to fall, the winner of the next set, these are all example where a gut feeling and a confident level of knowledge can make all the difference.

If you want to expand your knowledge and try and search for those value bet yourselves then why not have a look at our Insights and Team Stats for the inside scoop on the upcoming matches and how teams have performed so far this season.

Patience is a virtue

You’ve just won some money and you are instantly looking around to find the next bet to further increase your winnings. This can often mean that you bet lazy and stick it on something that you shouldn’t be.

Finding good value in bets can take time and patience is sometimes needed. Don’t look for something that isn’t there and if you can’t find a bet that you are confident in, then it’s best to simply leave it and avoid the temptation to throw your money away.